Although multiple births are more common in this era of fertility treatments,
higher order multiple births (triplets and quadruplets) are still very rare, and the hospital planned their delivery very carefully, with weekly conferences and practice scenarios that helped prepare the 30-plus member delivery team for the big day.
(18,19) Currently, there are no established therapies to reduce the risk of preterm delivery in
higher order multiples. (20) Pregnancies conceived of by assisted reproductive technologies are also at increased risk to be twins or
higher order multiple gestations.
INTRODUCTION: During the last 25 years, the prevalence of twin and
higher order multiple pregnancies has been rising considerably due to novel therapies of infertility Martin et al and Aston et al study reported the prevalence of twin pregnancies to have risen from 18.9 cases per 1,000 live birth in 1980 to 32.1 cases in 2005.
Khashoggi TY:
Higher order multiple repeat caesarean section: maternal and fetal outcome.
Higher order multiple births, when a single pregnancy produces three or more offsprings is called super twins or by numerical designation as:
The first child to be conceived after IVF was born in 1978, and by the mid-1980s the main problem with IVF was the increased incidence of
higher order multiple births.
In our study the frequency of CM was more in single-ton births as compared to twin and
higher order multiple births.
Dr Judy Lee, Chief Medical Officer of Corniche Hospital, while speaking to Gulf News about the sextuplets, says: "These babies fall under the category of
higher order multiple gestation, which carry a high risk and are rare.
During this same period, the multiple-birth rate (i.e., number of twins and
higher order multiple births per 100 live births) increased from 2.5% in 1989 to 3.5% in 1996.
The increase in the number and rate of
higher order multiple births in the past two decade is a public health concern because there is a increased risk to the mother and the fetus.
